Self Publish, Be Happy

An economic and cultural revolution has shaken the photobook world in the last five years: self-publishing. An army of photographers operating as publishers have had an instrumental role in today's photobook renaissance.

Self Publish, Be Happy offers a do-it-yourself manual and a survey of key examples of self-published success stories, as well as a self-publishing manifesto and list of resources. The manual portion of this volume provides insight, advice, and rudimentary how-tos for the photographer interested in self-publishing.

The survey provides an overview of the contemporary self-publishing landscape and includes a contribution by the Museum of Modern Art's art librarian and bibliographer David Senior, which grounds today's activities in a legacy of artists' books and collectives. The case studies themselves illustrate a particular theme and genre of self-publishing (such as diary, documentary, or conceptual object) and are accompanied by personal testimonies from the artists who created them.

Author Bruno Ceschel, founder of the Self Publish, Be Happy organization, provides a rallying cry for all those involved in the contemporary photobook revolution—a moment in which the photobook, in all its infinitesimal manifestations, has never before been so omnipresent in our cultural landscape, nor so critical to the photographer's practice.

Founded by Bruno Ceschel in 2010, Self Publish, Be Happy collects, studies, and celebrates self-published photobooks through an ongoing programme of workshops, live events, and on/offline projects. Its London-based collection contains more than two thousand publications.

Self Publish, Be Happy is the physical manifestation of a worldwide online community formed of a new, ever-evolving generation of young artists, who experiment, stretch, and play with the medium of photography.